Translations and technology – working towards a better world?

20 November 2015

Summary
Dear (future) purchasers of translation services – this presentation about the technologies used on the translation market should be of interest to you! By means of a presentation aimed at a wide audience, which also includes educational elements, we will provide you with an overview of the technologies used by professionals, in order to increase their productivity, reduce costs and improve the quality of their services. The aim is to familiarise you with the main technologies used for translation and enable you to gain a better understanding of when, how and why your translator can/must use them.
The presentation will also aim to dispel certain myths surrounding computer-assisted translation (CAT) and, more specifically, automatic translation, using anecdotes to explain all the advantages and dangers. Finally, so that you can avoid any unpleasant surprises or disappointments and make the most of opportunities to work productively with translation professionals, the presentation will conclude with a series of recommendations and advice on good practices when using translation technologies.

Style
The presentation will not include any excessively technical jargon. It will essentially take the form of a general introduction to the concepts and main technological translation tools. It will be delivered in a light-hearted and lively way, with a few amusing anecdotes about the good and, in particular, bad experiences of purchasers who knew little or nothing about translation services, most of whom wanted to make easy savings.

Plan
• A brief history of translation technologies
• Introduction to the main technologies used on the market
• Focus on translation memories and automatic translation
• Advantages and disadvantages of these two technologies and when they should be used
• Positive and negative experiences
• Recommendations and good practices

Guillaume Deneufbourg has worked as a translator and interpreter since 2002. Since 2008, he has also managed the translation agency Creativewords.eu, which provides specialist translation services for a wide range of leading international companies, most of which are from the IT sector.
Guillaume gained a master’s degree in translation from the University of Mons, as well as a master’s degree in Language Sciences and Translation Studies, with magna cum laude, from the same university. He teaches translation and translation technologies at the University of Lille 3 and the University of Mons, where he conducts research in the field of applied linguistics and technologies, as part of his doctorate studies, which he is completing under the joint supervision of both universities.
Guillaume is a member of the Société Française des Traducteurs and executive member of the Chambre belge des Traducteurs et Interprètes, in which he is mainly responsible for communication and links with training institutions.